Microsoft deleted my data - remotely, without my permission, Sep 16, 2003

Webmaster's note: This is the letter that is linked to in the ZDNet article: Xbox update shuts out Linux

Using Linux

That was months ago. In the meantime, next to playing great Xbox games, I was running Linux on it. I was using the MechAssault game as a bootloader for the great GNU/Linux operating system. I do not feel that what I did was unlawful, because the Xbox is my property, and I am free to do anything I want with it. I even don't feel guilty, because even if it's true that my Xbox has been sold below price - remember that I own six games, which should pay for the difference.

The Xbox being a computer now, I stored files on the Xbox hard disk. I stored files on the C: and E: drives. C: is the drive containing the system software, i.e. the Xbox Dashboard, and E: is normally used for savegames and for copied audio CDs.

The update disables the bug that allowed Linux to be installed, according to Michael Steil, one of the principal members of the Xbox Linux Project. "As soon as the Dashboard is updated, our application to disable the Xbox's anti-Linux protection (version 1.0) will not work any more," he said, adding, "we're working on a version 2.0."

He said the update also erased a directory on the Xbox's hard drive that had contained a document he created and stored using Linux. "I never allowed Microsoft alter anything on my Xbox through the Internet, and I never signed anything that contains a permission for Microsoft to do so," he wrote in an open letter to Microsoft, published on the Xbox Linux Web site. "I never allowed Microsoft to delete anything on my Xbox through an Internet connection."

Early today we received a note that there are rumblings in the underground related to a new OpenSSH vulnerability. The official web site says that a new version of OpenSSH was released and the following security advisory was published. Below the official OpenSSH patch, you can see the vendor advisories on this issue.

Controversial software seller The SCO Group fired back against Linux leader Red Hat on Monday, filing a motion to dismiss the Linux company's suit against SCO.

In a motion filed late Monday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, SCO argued that Red Hat has no grounds to sue SCO, as SCO's actions against the open-source Linux operating system have not specifically targeted Red Hat.

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